WHAT IS CLOUD MAKER?

Cloud Maker is a short film directed by ricardo enrique and Antonio Lasanta, dedicated to the realities of fenceline communities in Houston, TX and the ongoing environmental inequities they face. According to a 2024 report authored by Air Alliance Houston, “most industrial facilities are situated around communities with high percentages of Hispanic, African American, low-income, and elderly populations (Agency, n.d.)”. As the legacy of colonialism continues to wreak havoc throughout our lives, communities of color have and continue to bear the weight of industrial pollution. Funded by a generous grant from Houston Arts Alliance, the film tells the story of a Latinx family reeling from the grief of having lost a mother and loving partner due to chronic exposure to toxic pollutants. Throughout the film we follow Yesenia and her daughter Estefania on the anniversary of her beloved’s death, but when Estefania arrives in the midst of a work crisis which implicates her in the latest industrial accident, mother and daughter are forced to confront some of the stark realities of living in a city run by oil at the expense of people’s health.

WHAT DO WE NEED?

For this production our creative team was blessed with an eclectic composition of experienced professionals and first-time filmmakers. Equipped with a local cast and crew, we shot on site at a house and historical cemetery in Park Place and Pasadena to authentically showcase the neighborhoods and geography of the east Houston Metro Area. We hope the finished film will be an honest and humble representation of this city, its people, and a pressing issue that affects all Houstonians.

For this fundraising campaign we are asking for $4,000 to help us complete our post-production process. $3,500 of those funds will be used to pay our editor, color grader, sound mixer, and music composer.

As for the remaining amount, we acknowledge that film is a medium loved by millions and our team has had the rare privilege of producing our own. For this reason, in addition to Cloud Maker’s post-production expenses, we would like to allocate $500 of our fundraising goal to the creation of a short film grant that we will gift to an artist of the community, as our way of paying the blessing forward and ensuring that artists continue to have the means to create their own work.

Additionally, all patrons who donate will be listed in the film’s credits under acknowledgements and/or special thanks.

We hope you’ll find it in your generosity to help fund the rest of our film, and should finances be tight and a monetary donation not feasible for you, we hope you’ll take the time to share our page with others who may be better situated to contribute. Thank you!